Funding for Accident’s Town Park West is included in Gov. Larry
Hogan’s proposed budget. Should the Maryland General Assembly
approve the governor’s request, town officials plan to install a
basketball court at the park.

R Shreve / Staff photo by Lindsay Mulliken

Friendsville officials asked Gov. Larry Hogan for $33,000 to
make improvements to Friendsville Community Park.

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Larry Hogan has requested more than $8 million in his proposed 2018-19 budget for municipal and state park improvement projects in Garrett County, Sen. George Edwards reported.

The governor submitted his budget recently to the House of Delegates and Senate for their approval.

Hogan is seeking $33,000 for Friendsville Community Park through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Community Parks and Playgrounds Program.

Should the General Assembly approve his request, Friendsville will use the funding to purchase a hexagon-shaped, 100-percent-recycled-plastic picnic table for the children’s playground area and six new trash containers. The grant will also enable town officials to resurface the tennis court, make improvements to the existing walking trail, and construct two outdoor bulletin boards for the park’s kiosk, according to Mayor Spencer Schlosnagle.

“We are very grateful and appreciative to Gov. Hogan for proposing to fully fund our request, which includes these very worthwhile projects in our community park,” he said. “We take great pride in our park, as it is very beneficial to the many people and groups around the town and the tri-state area who visit and enjoy its many outdoor activities.”

Accident requested $20,000 to make upgrades to Town Park West. Town officials also applied for the funding through the Community Parks and Playgrounds Program.

“We plan to install a basketball court in the park,” said Ruth Ann Hahn, Accident town clerk. “It will be placed where the volleyball court is currently located. The court will be approximately 36 feet by 63 feet, have two goals, and painted lines.”

According to Edwards, the governor’s proposed budget also includes funding for the following DNR state projects:

The Greater Oakland Business Association’s Economic Vitality
Committee meets regularly at Oakland City Hall to discuss ways to
increase workforce development, business recruitment and retention,
and other related issues. From left are Mark Stutzman; Fred Gregg,
GOBA president and committee chairman; and Eric Robison. Not
pictured are committee members Pat Kane and Remington Friend.

OAKLAND — A proposed pilot program could lead to more local residents wanting to re-enter the workforce, and businesses being able to fill job vacancies.

The basic premise of Rural Works centers around “rethinking” how subsidy programs operate. Under this cost-sharing initiative, workers would receive 50 percent of their salaries as a subsidy. Employers would chip in the other 50 percent.

The goal is to associate pay with work and work with pride and self-worth, according to Mark Stutzman, a member of the Greater Oakland Business Association’s Economic Vitality Committee.

“People who have fallen out of the public workforce would have an incentive to work because they could supplement their incomes by producing for either a county entity or a private business,” he said.

The idea for the program came about during a committee meeting.

“We were kicking around the idea of how to get subsidized folks back to work,” said Stutzman.

The other committee members are Chairman/GOBA President Fred Gregg, Pat Kane, Remington Friend and Eric Robison. They work on economic development projects, and they examine ways to increase workforce development, business recruitment and retention, and other related issues involving not just Oakland, but Garrett County as a whole.

“One of the strains on rural places a lot of times has to do with subsidized incomes for families that are struggling or have fallen out of the workplace,” Stutzman said.

If given the choice between staying home and collecting a subsidized income or going to work for the same amount of money or less, he indicated, many people would understandably choose to stay home, especially if they have young children.

But this “logical” choice can detrimentally affect the individuals and their families, governments and economies.

“It’s a cycle that feeds itself and is a massive drain on state and federal budgets and a waste of human potential,” Stutzman said.

Businesses can also have a tough time finding workers.

“I was speaking with Fred one day, and he said he’s competing with state subsidies to find employees,” Stutzman said.

During the Chamber of Commerce’s “Business and Industry Appreciation” event last September, Garrett County Commissioner Jim Hinebaugh presented some compelling statistics about the local population. Of the county’s 30,000 residents, about 6,000 are above retirement age and 5,000 are below the employment age.

“That leaves roughly 20,000 residents, or two-thirds, that could be earning wages in the county,” Stutzman said.

About 2,000 of those hypothetical workers, however, are within one-to-five years of being eligible for retirement. Stutzman wonders how many of the remaining 18,000 are actually employed and how many rely on subsidized incomes to provide for themselves and their families.

He feels a Rural Works pilot program could change the dynamic of how Garrett countians view work-earned paychecks versus subsidy-supported incomes.

“Our goal is to regain a sense of pride in a day’s work and encourage a desire to contribute to the greater good of where one lives, ending the day of opting out of life and relying on others to provide shelter, food and clothing,” he said.

The Rural Works program could work similar to how Appalachian Crossroads, Oakland, operates. Workers would be transported, if needed, to locations to provide services at county-owned facilities or private businesses.

For example, if county government needed a building painted, a work crew could do the job. Likewise, if a private business needed something cleaned, the crew could provide that service.

“It could be a variety of work,” Stutzman said. “For anyone willing, it could also include job training or mentoring, depending on what connects the workforce to a potential employer.”

Employees who chose to join the subsidy/work program could benefit in the long run by eventually gaining full-time employment and higher incomes.

Governments could also benefit financially, as certain persons who choose not to join the program and work would have their subsidized incomes cut in half.

“There are potential 50-percent savings coming from those who opt-out of work,” Stutzman said.

He also noted that private companies could employ workers for a below-minimum wage since the earned-subsidized income would cover the difference.

County employment could benefit by having a range of services provided by a new-found workforce that was unavailable in the past.

Stutzman acknowledged that the Rural Works still remains a concept and that convincing state and local governments and agencies to even consider such a program will be challenging. He would like to present the idea to Gov. Larry Hogan.

“I think it might be something he would be interested in,” Stutzman said.

He presented a brief overview of Rural Works to Sen. George Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel during their prelegislative meeting at Garrett College in December.

“I just wanted to get your impressions on it,” Stutzman told the local lawmakers. “I think, if it’s framed as a pilot program, it could be something that could get support outside the county with the state.”

If successful, the model could be shared with other struggling communities to help empower their community’s underserved citizens, he noted.

For more information, contact GOBA at 301-334-2691 or townofoak@gmail.com.

Community

Hospital to Home offers help, hope to patients

R Shreve
/ by Renée Shreve
STAFF WRITER

02.01.18

R Shreve / Staff photo by Renée Shreve

Garrett County Community Action’s Lori Lewis, left, Maryland
Access Point operation manager, and Pam Hageman, director of Aging
and Nutrition Services, review resource options for Hospital to
Home clients.

R Shreve / Staff photo by Renée Shreve

This colorful sticker is a handy resource for Hospital to Home
participants to turn to after they’re discharged from Garrett
Regional Medical Center.

OAKLAND — Imagine you’re a patient at Garrett Regional Medical Center. You’ve had excellent care while at the facility, with the medical staff attending to your needs. But it’s time to be discharged.

What now? How will you cook your meals, clean your house, get to your follow-up doctors’ appointments? If it’s a serious medical issue, will you even be able to return home? Where do you go to get those and many other questions answered?

The local Hospital to Home team and its network of professionals are ready to help people age 60 and older and those 18 and over with disabilities.

“It’s an opportunity for patients in the hospital to think about their transition back home — what sorts of things they’ll need to make that transition as easy as possible,” said Pam Hageman, director of Garrett County Community Action’s Aging and Nutrition Services, about the program.

The H2H team includes Hageman, Kendra Thayer of GRMC, and Jennifer Lee-Steckman of the Garrett County Health Department. Last March, they signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to assess patients’ needs, connect them to resources and “promote the best possible outcomes in the community.”

Mountain Laurel Medical Center, Garrett County Department of Social Services, and numerous other area agencies play valuable roles, as well.

H2H was made possible through state funding. Currently, the local program is affiliated only with GRMC.

“What this grant has afforded us is the opportunity for the hospital and Maryland Access Point staff to get together and discuss patients,” Hageman said. “We’ve never had that opportunity before, to go into the hospital and know who would be needing community support.”

H2H utilizes the MAP network of local and regional resources.

“MAP, by definition, is an information assistance program,” Hageman said. “The whole thrust of the program is to be the initial point of entry to connect to other resources.”

Patients returning home will find out about home-delivered meals, veterans’ services, in-home care, housing options, personal care and chore services, support groups, energy assistance, social interaction opportunities and much more.

Lori Lewis is Community Action’s MAP operations manager, and DeAnna Schroyer is the MAP coordinator. They meet with hospital social workers and nurses on a daily basis to identify eligible patients who might benefit from H2H. Either Lewis or Schroyer then visits them in their hospital rooms to discuss possible resources.

To help pinpoint specific needs, patients are asked a series of basic questions. After this level-one screening is completed, referrals are set up with various agencies and programs.

“What we do is sort of options counseling,” Lewis said. “We tell them (patients) about options that are available in the community for them for their certain needs.”

Prior to discharge from the hospital, patients will receive a colorful sticker that is placed on the front of their information folders.

On the sticker, patients can fill in the names and phone numbers of their primary care providers; dates and times of follow-up appointments; the MAP staff member’s name and phone number; the GRMC community health worker’s name and phone number; and the name and phone number of a health department home health aide.

“It’s a nice visual,” Hageman said about the sticker. “They’re going to know who to call.”

Lewis stressed that GRMC social workers and community health workers take care of patients’ medical needs, such as arranging for oxygen to be delivered to their homes.

“We do work very tightly with them, but it’s the community supports that we really push,” she said.

After patients are discharged from the hospital, Lewis and Schroyer make follow-up calls and set up additional referrals, if needed. Patients are also encouraged to call them.

“While they’re in the hospital, some of them will tell you they don’t need anything,” Lewis said. “But I give them my card. They often call back if they think of something. It’s just a way to connect with them, especially whenever they’re in a vulnerable state, to let them know there are supports for them.”

Some of those supports have multiple benefits. For example, a Meals-on-Wheels dinner delivered by a friendly Community Action staff member provides more than just necessary nutrition. It’s an opportunity for a home-bound former patient to socialize with someone from the “outside world.”

For more mobile patients, Flowery Vale Health and Fitness Center is available.

“We use instructors from the CARC (Community Aquatic and Recreation Complex) for different classes,” Hageman said.

She noted that people recovering from certain ailments can socialize while benefitting from dance, yoga and balance-ball classes, and working out on a wide array of exercise equipment.

“There are so many community supports that we could talk about, and a lot of it is just adapting to whatever it seems the patient’s needs are,” Lewis said.

She noted that MAP’s counseling is a free service.

“It doesn’t cost anything for them to call here and talk to us and for us to give them different options that they might look into,” Lewis said. “Even people I think are going to be overqualified financially for various services, I always encourage them to do the Level 1 screening anyway, because you never know.”

She noted that rural Garrett County might have fewer resources than urban areas, but its networks are “tighter.” People are willing to work together and find solutions. The long and growing list of networking professionals includes Shelly Argabrite at GCHD; social workers Jessica Selenas, Angela Mathias, and Diane Dunham, and nurse navigator Jeannie Miller at GRMC; Scott Alexander at Social Services, Donna McClintock of the Alzhemer’s Association; Donna Crawford, formerly of GRMC; and Mountain Laurel Center staff members.

“We’re talking to them everyday to see what we can do for certain people,” Lewis said. “That network allows us to probably provide better coverage with our limited resources than other counties do.”

More information about H2H can be obtained by calling either Lewis or Hageman at 301-334-9431.

Joseph Hauger / Submitted photo

Croatian men’s basketball player Marin Lisica meets with Crellin
Elementary School second-graders Callie Bittinger, left, and Kyruu
Krupa. An initiative bringing together Garrett College
international students on various athletic teams with county public
elementary schools continues through spring.

News

First rabies case of 2018 announced

R Shreve
/ From Staff Reports

02.01.18

OAKLAND — Environmental Health Services of the Garrett County Health Department has reported the first case of laboratory-confirmed rabies in the county for 2018.

A dairy calf, submitted from the northern area of the county to the Maryland Department of Health Laboratory, was confirmed positive for rabies Jan. 23.

According to the health department, the farmer began to notice behavioral changes in the calf Jan. 17. After proper examination of the animal, Casselman Veterinary Services euthanized the calf Jan. 18. Environmental Health Services was notified Jan. 19.

With the help of the Center for Zoonotic and Vector-borne Diseases of the Maryland Department of Health, it was determined that the animal would be tested for rabies, although no known direct exposure to humans had occurred.

Following the laboratory-confirmed positive rabies results, seven individuals who routinely work on the farm and may have had indirect contact with the calf began rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. Environmental Health Services and the Maryland Department of Agriculture will continue to work closely with the farm owner to monitor the farm animals, according to the health department.

All warm-blooded animals are susceptible to being affected by the deadly rabies virus. The rabies virus is only transferred through the saliva of the infected animal. Signs and symptoms may include neurological signs and changes in the behavior of the animal. In this case, the calf began having trouble eating and drinking, the health department noted.

“It is important to remember that if your pet is exposed to a wild animal, do not handle your pet within two hours after contact,” said Diane Lee, GCHD public information officer. “If it is necessary to handle your pet, you need to wear protective gloves and immediately wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. If you have been bitten by a wild animal that cannot be captured, or if you have been exposed to an animal suspected of having rabies, seek medical treatment immediately.”

The health department encourages pet owners to check the vaccination status of their dogs, cats and ferrets. All dogs and cats are required, by law, to be vaccinated against rabies by 4 months of age. They can be vaccinated as early as 3 months.

The Garrett County Health Department will hold the first series of low-cost rabies clinics for 2018 in May. All dogs, cats and ferrets at least 3 months of age are eligible for vaccination.